Jonathan dos Santos/import
Jonathan dos Santos Ramírez (born 26 April 1990) is a Mexican footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for FC Barcelona. He has also been called up to the Mexican national team. Early life Born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico,3 Jonathan was competing along with his brother Giovani dos Santos in a youth tournament in France, where he was spotted by FC Barcelona scouts who were impressed with what they saw and decided to bring him and his brother to La Masia after a trial. Club career Barcelona 2008–09 season In the 2008–09 season he was in Juvenil A where he was captain of the team.4 During that same season he obtained a Spanish passport and thereby acquired Citizenship of the European Union, which enables him to play in the first team.5 2009–10 season In the summer of 2009, he was selected by the manager of FC Barcelona B, Luis Enrique, to form part of the second team.6 Subsequently, Pep Guardiola called him up to the first team during pre-season in England and the tour in the United States.7 On 15 August 2009, Jonathan was called up for his first official game with the first team in the Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao, although he was eventually ruled out and saw the game as a spectator.89 He made his debut with Barcelona B on 5 September 2009 against Mallorca B. The match finished in a 1–1 draw.10 Jonathan made his debut for Barcelona on 28 October 2009, coming on as a substitute for Seydou Keita in the 80th minute in an away Copa del Rey match against Cultural Leonesa, which Barcelona won 2–0.11 He made his Champions League debut for Barcelona on 24 November 2009 against Internazionale in a 2–0 win at the Camp Nou when he replaced Andrés Iniesta in the 92nd minute.12 Due to the lengthy 2009–10 season many Barcelona players were given breaks towards the end of the year. This meant the first team was going to be a few men short, and hence four Barça B players were called up by Guardiola on 29 December 2009. Among these four were Jonathan, Thiago Alcântara, Gai Assulin and Víctor Vázquez.13 His La Liga debut came on 2 January 2010 when he started against Villarreal CF before being substituted by Iniesta in the 60th minute.14 2010–11 season Jonathan was called up by Guardiola to the first team during pre-season along with other players from Barcelona B. In the first three matches, Guardiola played him as defensive midfielder, a position he had never played before. Nevertheless, dos Santos said, "I've felt comfortable in this position."15 2011–12 season On 26 July 2011, Jonathan started, and scored a goal in the 2–2 draw against Sport Club Internacional in the 2011 Audi Cup. The match went to a penalty shootout, where he scored as well. Barcelona advanced to the final, where they beat FC Bayern Munich 2–0. Jonathan was part of the starting line-up in both matches, though he played at right back in the final. Jonathan made his season debut on 29 August in the 5–0 home win against Villarreal CF, coming in as a substitute for Cesc Fàbregas in the 70th minute. On 24 November 2011, Jonathan signed a contract extension which will keep him at Barcelona until 2015.16 On 6 December, he appeared in the starting squad and played 58 minutes against FC BATE Borisov for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stage match.17 2012–13 season Despite rumours of a transfer to other Spanish clubs such as Real Betis and Málaga CF,18 and Sevilla FC,19 newly appointed coach Tito Vilanova officially called up Jonathan to Barcelona's first team squad, handing him the number 12 shirt.20 On 6 April 2013 against RCD Mallorca, he came on as a substitute for Iniesta in the 50th minute and competed against his brother Giovani dos Santos. International career Jonathan made his debut for the Mexico national football team when he started in a friendly against Colombia on 30 September 2009. He was substituted for Patricio Araujo in the 72nd minute; Colombia won the game 2–1.2122 This meant that he represented his national team before debuting for his club team.23 On 3 March 2010, Jonathan played 61 minutes against New Zealand. During the game, off a corner from Cuauhtémoc Blanco, the ball rolled towards him and he shot from outside the box but hit the crossbar. On 31 May 2010, it was announced that Jonathan had been left out of Mexico's 23-man final squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.2425 In May 2011, it was announced that Jonathan had been left out of the 2011 Gold Cup final squad. On 24 May 2011 he was called up to play the Copa América.26 He was subsequently dismissed from the team.27 On 29 February 2012 he returned to the Mexican national team for a friendly match against Colombia in Miami, Florida in which they lost 0–2 Category:Players